World Cup 2010: Thierry Henry nearly quit after handball controversy

Thierry Henry has admitted that he considered quitting football altogether following the furore that surrounded his infamous double-handball against the Republic of Ireland. The France captain was heavily criticised for the way in which he set up William Galls to score the decisive goal in his side's World Cup play-off against Ireland in Paris last November. The Football Association of Ireland was so incensed that they lodged a formal complaint with Fifa, demanding a replay of the tie. It was rejected but Henry remained the centre of scrutiny for some time after and, ahead of France's opening match of the World Cup against Uruguay tonight, the 32-year-old said it was enough to almost force him into retirement. "Yes, for a fraction of a second," Henry told L'Équipe when asked if he considered quitting. "But I had already thought about stopping after Euro 2004 when there was all that talk about a supposed conspiracy against [Zinedine] Zidane. I quickly changed my mind. "I laugh about it now. I think about how stupid some people were and tell myself that they have a very selective memory."